


Tears In Heaven (Eric Clapton, 1992)

by MarmeLady_Orange



Series: MAGNET HEARTS [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Childhood Friends, F/M, Friendship, M/M, Mention of dead parent, Middle School, Slow Build, Underage Kissing, but stuff starts happening, mention of underage foreplay, nobody cares about who get with who in this reality, not in a relationship yet, set in 1992, underage sexual situations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-13
Updated: 2014-07-13
Packaged: 2018-02-08 16:58:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1949085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarmeLady_Orange/pseuds/MarmeLady_Orange
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The gang gets reunited in 7th grade and it’s as if Dean and Sam had never left. Some will start experimenting with love. Some will experiment with heartache. But none of them will get to the end of that school year unaffected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tears In Heaven (Eric Clapton, 1992)

**Author's Note:**

> I have decided to treat homosexuality as if it wasn’t a big deal (because, really, it shouldn’t be). I know very well, in those years, seeing two guys or two girls get together at a school dance, or anywhere, would have been an issue. But not in this “universe”. I hate writing about homophobia and I kinda have to if I want to write “realistic” stuff with characters involved in same sex relationships. So I decided I wouldn’t do any of that in that particular series…
> 
> As for my characterization of Gabriel… I know he isn’t very much “trickster/archangel/loki” like… not yet anyway. I do have plans for him later in the series but he’s a side character so he won’t get much play. His trickster personality might show up a bit later though.
> 
> That’s all I have to say for now… Thank you so very much for reading, I hope you will appreciate this new chapter. :-)
> 
> ***

When they started 7th grade, Castiel Shurley and Charlie Bradbury had to admit that it wasn’t so much different than the 6th. The students and schedules were pretty much the same as before, so really it was like coming back to what they were doing before. They had a couple of new teachers but other than that, it was the exact same thing as the previous year.

Another non negligible fact was that they weren’t the younger ones anymore. They could finally stop feeling like the babies of the school and start enjoying being real students. So it didn’t take a week for the two friends to be back to their 6th grade routine, having lunch with the same group of kids, at pretty much the same table as before.

Last year, these guys had taken a liking to them both, inviting them to join in an already well established group. Most of them had been 7th and 8th graders and of all of them, only Inias, Benny and Andrea now remained. The older ones had now gone off to experience freshman year in high school.

At home, nothing had changed for Castiel. His father was still spending most of his time hauled up in his study while Anna pretty much only came home to sleep, when she did at all. At least there was Gabriel who was always around and seemed happy enough to spend time with him.

Except that once in a while, on Saturday nights mostly, Gabriel would go out clubbing. That’s what he said he was doing anyway. He would dress nice, put on a whole lot of cologne and drive off in his Black ’82 Firebird Trans Am, dance music blaring through the speakers and tires screeching.

Usually he’d come back late at night, discreetly enough not to wake anyone up. But sometimes, just sometimes, he wouldn’t come back until the sun had come up the next morning.

On those days, Gabriel was happy as a clam and he would usually prepare homemade waffles for breakfast.

“So, kiddo… how’s 7th grade treating you?” Gabriel asked Castiel on a particularly cheerful Sunday morning.

“Not so bad,” the teenager replied around a mouthful of waffles covered in berries, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Castiel was glad he had had the mind to stop his cousin from getting the ice cream and sprinkles out. “We met this new guy, he’s really cool,” he added.

“Ah yeah? What’s his name?”

“Kevin. He’s really smart, he like skipped 5th grade or something.”

“How old is he?”

“Hmm… Eleven I think. And he’s short too,” Castiel responded, pensive.

“Are people giving him a hard time?” Gabriel asked, his brows knitted in a concerned frown.

“Nah… I don’t think so. He hangs out with us and Benny’s scary big. I don’t think anyone’s gonna wanna get on his bad side.”

“Good! As long as nobody gets in trouble."

“Not a chance. Benny’s too busy trying to get Andrea to be his girlfriend,” Castiel giggled, thinking back to the previous Friday’s lunch period, when Benny had been trying to offer every item on his food tray to the blushing brunette.

“How about you? Any cute girl you want as a girlfriend?”

Castiel just shrugged, trying to think of any other girl other than Charlie and Andrea, only to find that he couldn’t.

“I dunno. It’s only been three weeks, Gabriel.”

“I know, kiddo. But if you wait too long, all the good ones will be taken,” Gabriel smirked, getting up to prepare yet another serving of waffles. “Want some more?”

“Yeah, okay,” Castiel grinned before shoveling another huge bite of waffles in his mouth.

•

The next day, Charlie and Castiel were walking to school, both glad it was still warm enough to not be wearing a coat. They had been using that same route since the beginning of 6th grade, only because Castiel had determined it was both the most efficient and pleasant itinerary.

“I think Mr Singer is sick,” she suddenly announced while they were waiting for a traffic light to turn green.

“How come?”

“He’s been gone a while. He left at least two weeks ago and he asked mom to take care of the dogs for him.”

“He didn’t tell her why he was leaving?”

“Nope,” she confirmed, then started crossing the street. “I think he might be dead,” she said again after a while.

“The police would have come I think. Maybe he’s sick. Or maybe he’s on vacation,” Castiel tried to surmise.

“Imagine Mr Singer going to the beach and wearing an hawaiian shirt?” squeaked Charlie, scrunching her face at the thought.

“And an hawaiian skirt,” Castiel chipped in, making a face.

“With a flower necklace and dancing like that,” Charlie cackled, imitating a hula dancer and trying to force Castiel to dance with her.

They were still laughing when they arrived in school and, of course, they tried to explain why to their buddies. Only Benny, whose dad had been a longtime client of Bobby Singer’s, had no trouble imagining the owner of the salvage yard the way his friends did. Which caused him to get to class clutching at his belly and tears running down his face he’d been laughing so hard.

•

The next morning, Charlie was happy to give Castiel the news that apparently, Bobby Singer wasn’t dead after all.

“So was he sick or what?” Castiel asked his friend, walking close to her so he could benefit from the protection of her pink checkered umbrella.

“Dunno. He came over to talk to mom right when I was leaving.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah. So, what do you have first period?”

“English. You?”

“History. It should be illegal to do anything but gym or arts before lunch,” Charlie huffed and pouted.

“I like History. Don’t you find Mrs Visyak interesting?”

“Cas, you like every topic in school.”

“Not true.” Castiel denied, a warm flush tainting his cheeks.

“Ah yeah? Name one class you don’t like. Just one.”

To be honest, Castiel had to think for a minute because he really did like school. He loved learning new stuff and being taught by interesting people. Mrs Visyak was one of the best ones, able to teach history not as list of boring facts but as a real story. He found her so compelling that he sometimes liked to imagine that she actually was immortal and had lived through all those things she depicted so well.

“Earth to Cas… Told you you wouldn’t find—”

“Drama! I hate drama,” finally said Castiel, remembering about his last course of the day.

“Why didn’t you sign-up for dance instead?” she asked, stopping at the last traffic light of their circuit.

“I can’t dance at all.”

“I’d say that’s a good reason to take the class.”

“You don’t understand. I can’t even do the chicken dance right.”

“Bah… It sucks anyway,” Charlie replied, giving him a sympathetic shrug.

•

The period right after lunch was algebra for Castiel, to which he walked with a smile on his face, thinking about Charlie’s mock puking when he told her where he was heading. His teacher, Mr. Devereaux, was a very peculiar and fidgety man, always looking like he was on the verge of grabbing his worn-out leather briefcase and run into hiding.

But overall, he was still a good teacher. Weird and cranky, but still able to make algebra understable to most.

Twenty minutes in and the whole class was working on a set of equations from their exercise book when there was a knock on the door. In the plexiglass window could be seen principal Rufus Turner, wearing a tight smile, waiting for the teacher to come and speak with him.

Mr. Devereaux disappeared in the hall for a minute or two and when he came back, he wasn’t alone and looked even grumpier, if that could ever be possible.

“People, this here a new student, Dean Winchester. Go sit wherever. And thanks for insisting to start right in the middle of my class,” the teacher groused, dismissing the teenager towards the back of the class with a resigned flip of his hand.

While Dean was hesitating between the only two free desks in the room, Castiel looked at him, in shock. He was kind of hoping his old friend would notice him and in doing so, choose the empty seat right in front of him. But he didn’t. He didn’t see him and chose the place closest to the front, next to the row of windows.

“I trust you have all the necessary material, Mr. Winchester?” the teacher asked, keeping his attention on the newspaper on his desk.

“I just got here, dude. I don’t even have a pen,” Dean responded in a snarky tone.

Mr Devereaux looked up and glared at him, lips pursed.

“In my class, Mr Winchester, you will address me as Mr Devereaux. Not dude, man, buddy, Frank or not even God. Each time I’ll hear you call me anything else, I’m taking a point off of whatever you’re doing. Am I making myself clear?”

“Perfectly clear, Frank,” Dean responded with a grin. “What? I’m not doing anything right now,” he defended himself, brushing a hand over his empty desk, causing a couple of sniggers to erupt.

“My apologies. Maybe I should have explained that those points were retroactive. So that’s minus one right there for the next thing you’ll be working on. Which are the exercises on page 35,” Mr Devereaux explained, getting up to bring Dean an algebra book, a sheet of paper and a pencil. “Make sure you give those back to me at the end of the class and bring your own next time.”

•

Castiel was one of the first students out of the class when algebra was over. He would have liked to rush off and find Charlie to tell her Dean Winchester was back in town but he wanted to talk to him right away instead. Castiel had tried a couple of times to make his presence known to his old friend but without much success.

So he was waiting in the hall, ready to grab Dean’s arm the second he’d get out so he could finally talk to him. Maybe grill him a little as to why they never heard back from him, safe for that postcard. Ask him how Sammy was doing. He had so many questions…

“Cas?” he heard Dean say from right next to him. Great, he had been lost in his thoughts and he would have missed him if—

“Ah, man! I was really hoping I’d see you here,” Dean exclaimed, strongly hugging the brown haired boy. “Where’s Charlie? She goes here too, right?”

“Yes. We don’t have much classes together though,” Castiel answered, his speech close to being robotic he was such in shock.

“What’s your next class?”

“Drama,” pouted Cas.

“Me too,” smiled Dean. “Can I follow you there?”

“Yeah,” Castiel, finally able to smile back at his friend. “So… what are you doing back here? Your dad moved again?”

Dean’s features suddenly closed off, which made Castiel realise how much older Dean looked. Not only because they hadn’t seen each other in close to two years, but just older. Even compared to anyone in their own grade. Older than himself.

“Yeah, me and Sammy are back at Bobby’s,” Dean only replied after a short pause, making sure to keep looking ahead to wherever they were heading.

Of course, Castiel was beyond curious to know what might have happened to his friends but he knew better than to pry. When it came to family, Dean Winchester seemed to be especially secretive and for some reason, Castiel supposed it might be something the blond boy wasn’t quite ready to share.

•

Walking home from school that day was nothing short of a celebration. The three reunited friends even stopped at Harvelle’s to sip on chocolate and strawberry shakes and talk about what had been happening in the last year and a half.

That’s how they learned that Dean and Sammy never went to live into another house but rather kept moving from motel to motel with their dad who was some kind of bounty hunter.

“So your dad’s like a cop?” Charlie asked around the pink straw in her mouth.

“Kinda, yeah. But way more dangerous,” Dean explained with evident pride.

“But what about you. Did you get to go to school?” Castiel asked, less impressed by John Winchester’s job than he was worried for his friends’ education.

“We managed. We changed schools a bit but I was able to keep up with you guys, so that’s nice. Sammy’s a genius though, he always has the highest scores.”

“So… where’s your dad? Why are you living at Bobby’s?” Charlie asked, ignoring Castiel’s slightly panicked expression. She wanted to know, so she asked.

“My dad’s last job didn’t go so well… he didn’t make it,” Dean answered stiffly, letting his straw sink in the remnants of his chocolate shake.

The news hit Castiel like a ton of bricks because it meant that he and Sammy were now orphans. And in Castiel’s mind, being an orphan seemed like the worst thing that could ever happen to a someone. His mother had abandoned him and his sister, and their dad barely showed his face but at least, as far as he knew, they were both _alive_.

“Come on guys, I’m fine. Sammy and I are fine, and Bobby’s awesome,” Dean tried to smile, seeing the sadness in his friends’ features. “Let’s talk about something else, all right? So, have you guys seen **Hook** yet?”

•

It didn’t take long for Dean to be welcomed in their little lunch group, him and Benny seeming to make an instant connection. Which also caused—or helped, depending how one would look at the situation—Cassandra Robinson to graft herself to the gang.

She could have done it before, seeing as she was one of Andrea’s oldest friends. But it took a golden boy with green eyes to make her stop caring to be seen even near their motley crew. Within a week, they could have welcomed yet a new person to their table because she didn’t seem to be willing to use a chair, instead spending most of the lunch periods sitting on her new boyfriend’s lap.

More than often, the cafeteria supervisors would come over and ask the darker skinned girl to start acting in a proper manner and sit on her own chair. But of course, as soon as they were gone, Cassie would sit right back on Dean’s lap. Soon enough, the school caught on and a supervisor was asked to always stand near their table, preventing the teenagers to give too much of a spectacle.

Secretly, Castiel had been glad to see this happen because the whole Dean-Cassie display was making him very uncomfortable. Of course, not liking Cassie’s persona was not helping in any way. Not only was she ruining their lunch break by slobbering all over his friend, she was also ruining the weekend activities they could have planned over at Charlie’s.

Because it was out of the question that Charlie would invite her back to her place again. Of course, they had tried to hang out with Dean’s girlfriend at first. But that happened only once. She came in and pretty much ruined the whole night, complaining about everyone and everything, then thought it’d be a good idea to take Dean into Charlie’s room and start making out on her bed. Without their shirts on and with hands everywhere. Charlie’s mom hadn’t been impressed.

When winter came back again, even though they were starting to get a bit old for the whole sliding thing, Castiel and Charlie had decided they didn’t really care and went out right after the first snowfall. If Dean was a no show, Sammy was very excited to be asked to go with them. It was almost like before, minus the older Winchester, but it was still pretty much fun. They would at least get to see him in school.

The snow had started to melt when Cassie stopped hanging out at their table for lunch, instead going back to wherever she had been before. What she left behind was a brokenhearted Dean Winchester and a concerned group of friends.

Still, Dean did as he did best and sulked until he seemed to be able to smile again. It wasn’t as bright as it had been during that whole school year but it was getting better. He started showing up again at Charlie’s to watch movies or play video games, but he never tried to tell them what happened. The only thing he reluctantly said, after Charlie’s incessant prodding, was that Cassie had said she didn’t love him anymore and they never asked about her again.

•

The Cassie subject came back up the weekend before the 7th grade dance was to be held. As per most Saturday nights, Castiel was hanging out at Charlie’s with the Winchester brothers. They had been watching the **Terminator** movies, all seeing the second installment for the first time. Not an eye stayed dry at that last scene in the factory, as the Terminator died while giving a thumb’s up to Sarah and her son.

It wasn’t Castiel’s favourite type of movies, he had found both of them overly violent, but he had to admit that the second one had been quite interesting. Not one kid in the room had any significant relationship with their father, would it be because they were deceased or uninterested. So they pretty much all got sucked in John Connor’s storyline and the attachment he felt for his cyborg protector.

Still, nobody said a word about it. They all knew it without having to speak and instead, Charlie tried to find the most positive subject she could think of. Was she ever wrong.

“So guys, are you excited for next week’s dance? I know I am. I might ask that girl to dance,” Charlie announced after taking out the tape from the player.

“What girl?” Castiel asked in a teasing tone.

“You know what girl,” she scowled at him, her cheeks slightly pink.

“Oh, you mean _that_ girl,” he teased again, turning to look at Dean. “Charlie has a crush on the short girl who played the elf in the school play.”

“Huh… nice choice, Red,” Dean smiled, nodding in approval. “Her name’s Larissa, just so you know.”

“She knows. I already told her that. And I also checked and she’ll be at the dance. You’re coming, Dean?” Castiel asked, hoping he wouldn’t have to stand there alone the minute the two girls would get together.

“Nope.”

“Why not?” Charlie asked while browsing in her collection of VHS tapes, trying to find something else they could watch.

“Cassie’s gonna be there. I don’t wanna go,” pouted Dean, crossing his arms on his chest.

“Charlie, can I watch **Drop Dead Fred**?” asked Sam, holding the box in his hand. He certainly didn’t seem interested by the ongoing conversation.

“I don’t mind,” she replied, leaving her own explorations and coming to sit back on the couch between her two friends. “So what if Cassie goes? She doesn’t own the gym,” Charlie spat, still pretty much pissed at her friend’s ex-girlfriend.

“I don’t want to see her be all over Gordon, all right?” he barked, getting up. “Come on Sammy, we’re leaving.”

“But Dean, I just started—” Sam tried to explain, pointing to the TV where his movie’s opening scene had barely started.

“We’re. Leaving.”

“Come on, Dean. We don’t have to talk about it. If you don’t wanna go, that’s okay,” Charlie apologized, sad to think she could have hurt her friend.

“I—I’m just tired, all right?” Dean replied in a trembling voice, refusing to look at his friends. “Can Sammy bring the movie home? We’ll give it back.”

“Yeah… of course,” Charlie nodded sadly.

“I’ll rewind it,” promised the preteen while getting up to pop the tape out of the VHS player.

“Of course you will,” gently mocked Castiel, smiling at the younger Winchester. “We’ll see you Monday, Dean?” he felt the need to ask, knowing full well that they would.

“Yeah, see you Monday guys! Thanks for the movies, Charlie.” Dean said before pushing his baby brother forward and following him out the door.

•

The following Friday, Castiel was ecstatic. He would have almost been willing to go kiss and hug Gordon Walker for being such a smug asshole. It was thanks to him if Dean had finally decided to come to the dance with him and Charlie.

Cassie’s new boyfriend had brought her along to their table at lunch on Wednesday to flaunt in Dean’s face how the girl was his now, but also to challenge the Winchester boy into coming to the dance.

Castiel and Charlie had suspected Andrea of telling Cassie about Dean not wishing to attend, as they might have been heard discussing it the day before. But they had been too happy to see their friend decide to take upon the challenge and stand up against Gordon Walker to feel bad about it.

Since Dean wasn’t to come at first, Cas had asked Gabriel to drive him and Charlie in his Trans Am, which his cousin had been more than glad to agree to. When Dean decided to go after all, Castiel had worried Gabriel would refuse to drive them but all he said was _“the more the merrier”_ and he even insisted for little Sammy to be part of the journey.

This is how the three 7th graders, all dressed in jeans and awesome novelty tee-shirts, had to cram in the backseat while Sam was treated with a shotgun ride. And just as Castiel had hoped, the black car with the golden bird on the hood, booming with overly loud dance music, made quite an impression on their class, Dean being the most enthusiastic of them all.

They had been at the dance for close to two hours now and Charlie had disappeared somewhere, probably off dancing with Larissa and her friends. At least, Dean didn’t seem to be the type of guy to dance either so he stayed with Castiel, near a bunch of other kids who clearly weren’t having the time of their lives.

“It’s not as much fun when we don’t dance, right?” Dean leaned in to tell Castiel, nodding towards the dancing students gathered in the middle of the gym.

“You can go and dance if you want. I’m just happy to stay here.” smiled Castiel, rocking back and forth on his feet.

“Nah… I don’t want to, it’s just… a bit boring, you know?”

“It’s not so bad. The only thing I’d change is lower the volume a little. It’s kind of hard to talk.” explained Castiel, moving a bit to the side to talk closer into Dean’s ear.

“Then what’s the point of going to a dance?”

Castiel just shrugged and backed away to his original position, looking at the students around them. Most of them seemed to be having a blast, dancing, singing, and laughing. If he hadn’t had two left feet, he might have tried to join in but he knew from experience that all that would happen is him falling on his face and becoming the school’s latest punchline.

“I don’t dance either. Unless it’s with a girl. I only slow dance.” Dean then told Castiel, smiling wide and waggling his eyebrows.

“I can’t even do that. I’m sure I would kill them.”

“You can’t kill someone by dancing, Cas.” laughed Dean at the idea.

“You don’t know that,” Castiel countered, amused.

“Yeah, I do,” Dean smirked. “And I can prove it,” he added when he heard the first notes of the next song. He grabbed Castiel’s hand and pulled him towards the other dancers.

While Cyndi Lauper was starting to sing about True Colors, Castiel followed his friend in complete stupor, until he made them stop right in the middle of the dancing floor. Dean grabbed Castiel’s arms and hooked them behind his neck then circled his own arms around his friend’s waist.

“Just follow me,” Dean said softly in his ear, starting to move in time with the music.

That’s when Castiel started noticing things he never had before. Like how Dean had become slightly taller and wider than him when before they were basically the same built.

Or like his smell, and not only the hint of old man’s cologne he was wearing—must have been Bobby’s or his dad’s—but also his own aroma, something Castiel had never smelled before but thought was the best fragrance in the world.

Or like how everywhere he and Dean were touching, would it be through clothing or skin on skin, Castiel would feel like he could catch on fire. And yet, all he wanted was to touch him even more, chest to chest, hips to hips.

That was probably the most defining moment in Castiel’s life. He might have only been 13 years old but he was still able to recognize the things that were happening to him, and the reason they were. He would have had to be an idiot not to understand why his jeans were suddenly becoming too confining.

Not that it was the first time, far from it. But he knew that this time, the reason was holding him, swaying softly to the sound of the 80’s ballad, and looking… at something right over Castiel’s shoulder. The brown haired boy turned around to see Dean had brought them to dance close to Gordon and Cassie, who at that very moment were busy kissing in a manner that would make an adult come separate them real soon.

Castiel turned around, pretty convinced now that he had been asked—or rather taken—to dance solely for the benefit of Dean’s ex. And frankly, Cas wouldn’t have minded helping his friend to make that witch jealous. But this was before he realised that he liked Dean and had stupidly thought Dean might like him too.

But Dean didn’t like him that way. And Cas was now sporting the most embarrassing boner of his life because he liked his friend a little too much.

The song wasn’t even over when Castiel left to hide in the bathroom, leaving a confused Dean on the dance floor to think that maybe, just maybe, it was possible after all to kill someone with dancing.

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta’d, not copyrighted (not by me anyway), and it's not givin’ me a single cent so if you wanna sue me you might wanna settle for getting a box of crackers and a black cat for your troubles.
> 
> ***


End file.
